CD Player or Computer?

[Col. Crackpot]

if faced with the choice, would you use:

crappy old Gateway with 40 watt desktop speakers, (one of which has a broken leg and rattles like a bastard when played loudly) and occasional tendency to lurch headlong into a blue screen of death

or

500 watt Sony DTS reciever with a 12 in sony subwoofer, Polk Audio front and center channel bookshelf speakers, JBL rear channels and a Technics 5 disc changer.

yeah. pretty easy.

[Durandal]

No computer sound system sounds as good as a decent stereo system. Even the very best computer sound systems are junk compared to a half-decent pair of stereo speakers running off a real amp.

I dunno, my Klipsch 4.1's sound pretty damn good to me. But I do want 5.1 surround, so I think I'll go for a home theatre system at some point in the future, since my sound card has a S/PDIF.

[phongn]

I dunno, my Klipsch 4.1's sound pretty damn good to me. But I do want 5.1 surround, so I think I'll go for a home theatre system at some point in the future, since my sound card has a S/PDIF.

Bah, you don't know what you're missing

[aerius]

I dunno, my Klipsch 4.1's sound pretty damn good to me. But I do want 5.1 surround, so I think I'll go for a home theatre system at some point in the future, since my sound card has a S/PDIF.

Bah, you don't know what you're missing

He should thank his lucky stars, the pursuit of audio excellence drains money like few things can. Quit while you're ahead (moneywise) I say.

[Darth Wong]

No computer sound system sounds as good as a decent stereo system. Even the very best computer sound systems are junk compared to a half-decent pair of stereo speakers running off a real amp.

I dunno, my Klipsch 4.1's sound pretty damn good to me. But I do want 5.1 surround, so I think I'll go for a home theatre system at some point in the future, since my sound card has a S/PDIF.

Of course they do, but have you ever tried a side-to-side switching comparison between those things and a pair of real home speakers running off a high-quality amp? Side-to-side switching comparisons leave nothing to the imagination or auditory memory.

[phongn]

He should thank his lucky stars, the pursuit of audio excellence drains money like few things can. Quit while you're ahead (moneywise) I say.

Bah, as long as you resist the temptation to upgrade, you'll be fine.

/quiety closes window showing the M22ti

[Darth Wong]

I dunno, my Klipsch 4.1's sound pretty damn good to me. But I do want 5.1 surround, so I think I'll go for a home theatre system at some point in the future, since my sound card has a S/PDIF.

Bah, you don't know what you're missing

He should thank his lucky stars, the pursuit of audio excellence drains money like few things can. Quit while you're ahead (moneywise) I say.

It's not bad until you know what Martin-Logans sound like.

[aerius]

It's not bad until you know what Martin-Logans sound like.

Unfortunately I do. I've heard the new Martin-Logan Prodigy speakers driven by over $20k in electronics. That was the best sound I've ever heard outside of a concert hall.

[phongn]

It's not bad until you know what Martin-Logans sound like.

Unfortunately I do. I've heard the new Martin-Logan Prodigy speakers driven by over $20k in electronics. That was the best sound I've ever heard outside of a concert hall.

Slightly OT, but some fool on the ArsTechnica A/V forum started babbling how much better Klipsch or Logitech computer speakers must be over things like Polk Audio or Axiom Audio because of the fact that those companies were internationally distributed.

(Needless to say, he got dogpiled)

[Zac Naloen]

i use my computer, simply because i don't have cd player that holds multiple disks and i like listening to the different music styles i have in my collection randomly, otherwise i get bored

[Lord Pounder]

My computer isn't in my bedroom so when on the PC like now i load up Win Amp and play a selection, i ripped my entire CD collection when i started getting into the Napster revolution. Up in my room i usually listen to the radio. My CD players multichanger has had the same 5 CDs in it that i put in the day i bought it a year ago, Audioslave, Undertow by Tool, Spiders by Space, Mechanical Animals by Marilyn Manson and Achtung Baby by U2. When mobil i have a MP3 CD Player but i've bought a RioRiot MP3 player off Ebay at the weekend and i'll be getting it soon.

[Durandal]

No computer sound system sounds as good as a decent stereo system. Even the very best computer sound systems are junk compared to a half-decent pair of stereo speakers running off a real amp.

I dunno, my Klipsch 4.1's sound pretty damn good to me. But I do want 5.1 surround, so I think I'll go for a home theatre system at some point in the future, since my sound card has a S/PDIF.

Of course they do, but have you ever tried a side-to-side switching comparison between those things and a pair of real home speakers running off a high-quality amp? Side-to-side switching comparisons leave nothing to the imagination or auditory memory.

I really just don't have the room. Part of the reason a set of computer speakers does well for me is because I live in an apartment and have a small room, so it tends to saturate pretty quickly. My sound card's bass management is also excellent, and has done wonders for the overall balance in my system.

At this point, I consider the quality of music compression to be the bottleneck in my audio system. All of my AAC encodes sound just awesome, but I've got some MP3's that are utter shit (scratchiness on high notes, things like that).

Of course, I know what good audio sounds like. My dad has a stereo room in the basement at home. It's a simple, 2-gigantic-speakers-in-the-front setup. All of his equipment sits on racquetballs that have been cut in half to minimize vibration (even the cabling). He's also got sound reflectors positioned throughout the room. The CD player even has a filter which optionally strips out the timing information on the track, since this information can create small amounts of noise in the audio signal. He's also got an air compressor hooked up to the turntable ... I can't even remember what for. Listening to Gladiator or Star Wars on that system is just incredible.

[C.S.Strowbridge]

I use my computer for stationary music, and use a CD player that can read MP3 songs when I'm moving.

Same here, except the MP3 / CD player is a boxing day purchase.

[The Kernel]

It's not bad until you know what Martin-Logans sound like.

Unfortunately I do. I've heard the new Martin-Logan Prodigy speakers driven by over $20k in electronics. That was the best sound I've ever heard outside of a concert hall.

Slightly OT, but some fool on the ArsTechnica A/V forum started babbling how much better Klipsch or Logitech computer speakers must be over things like Polk Audio or Axiom Audio because of the fact that those companies were internationally distributed.

(Needless to say, he got dogpiled)

Actually Phongn, the Klipsch and Logitech speakers are pretty decent and actually beat out a great deal of the HTIB speaker sets out there. Check them out sometime, they are a great alternative at a relatively low cost. Might I add that the Klipsch Promedia's are merely Klipsch Quintets that have an integrated amp (fairly decent one too)?

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

No computer sound system sounds as good as a decent stereo system. Even the very best computer sound systems are junk compared to a half-decent pair of stereo speakers running off a real amp.

Just a thought. Is there anyone connecting their PC's to high-end stereo??

Also, some sound cards are eqquiped with built-in surround capabilities. What if we disable that feature, and then connect the soundcard's output to dedicated surround processor (or amplifier with surround capabilities). Can we still hear the surround effect with any games that support it? (Ie Dolby Surround in F-22 Lightning III)

[Vertigo1]

Just a thought. Is there anyone connecting their PC's to high-end stereo??

Also, some sound cards are eqquiped with built-in surround capabilities. What if we disable that feature, and then connect the soundcard's output to dedicated surround processor (or amplifier with surround capabilities). Can we still hear the surround effect with any games that support it? (Ie Dolby Surround in F-22 Lightning III)

If you disable the surround sound feature, you'll just hear stereo audio.

btw, a single $6 cable (headphone -> dual RCA) from Radio Shack will allow you to run audio from your PC to your stereo.

[The Kernel]

Just a thought. Is there anyone connecting their PC's to high-end stereo??

Also, some sound cards are eqquiped with built-in surround capabilities. What if we disable that feature, and then connect the soundcard's output to dedicated surround processor (or amplifier with surround capabilities). Can we still hear the surround effect with any games that support it? (Ie Dolby Surround in F-22 Lightning III)

If you disable the surround sound feature, you'll just hear stereo audio.

btw, a single $6 cable (headphone -> dual RCA) from Radio Shack will allow you to run audio from your PC to your stereo.

Why do that? You can just run a Toslink cable and preserve the surround sound (most soundcards have a toslink port these days). Better yet, grab an Nforce 2 with a DD ICE and have all your audio upconverted to DD 5.1

[phongn]

Actually Phongn, the Klipsch and Logitech speakers are pretty decent and actually beat out a great deal of the HTIB speaker sets out there. Check them out sometime, they are a great alternative at a relatively low cost. Might I add that the Klipsch Promedia's are merely Klipsch Quintets that have an integrated amp (fairly decent one too)?

He was comparing their lower-end line, not the nicer Promedias. And my M3tis still crush those silly speakers

[The Kernel]

Actually Phongn, the Klipsch and Logitech speakers are pretty decent and actually beat out a great deal of the HTIB speaker sets out there. Check them out sometime, they are a great alternative at a relatively low cost. Might I add that the Klipsch Promedia's are merely Klipsch Quintets that have an integrated amp (fairly decent one too)?

He was comparing their lower-end line, not the nicer Promedias. And my M3tis still crush those silly speakers

He said Klipsch 4.1's. Klipsch only makes 4.1 Promedias. Oh and of course your home theater speakers crush them. So do my NHT's. But they still sound awfully good for the money and would satisfy even a discriminating listener as computer speakers.

EDIT: Sorry, I got mixed up with you a Durandal. He was talking about Promedias.

[phongn]

He said Klipsch 4.1's. Klipsch only makes 4.1 Promedias. Oh and of course your home theater speakers crush them. So do my NHT's. But they still sound awfully good for the money and would satisfy even a discriminating listener as computer speakers.

EDIT: Sorry, I got mixed up with you a Durandal. He was talking about Promedias.

Yes, Durandal was talking about Promedias, that fool on Ars was talking about their lower-end line and more or less making of fool out of himself.

[Durandal]

He said Klipsch 4.1's. Klipsch only makes 4.1 Promedias. Oh and of course your home theater speakers crush them. So do my NHT's. But they still sound awfully good for the money and would satisfy even a discriminating listener as computer speakers

Say what you want about computer speakers, but I got them for $150 (half the retail price) refurbished from Klipsch directly. To me, that's a hell of a deal.

[Vertigo1]

Why do that? You can just run a Toslink cable and preserve the surround sound (most soundcards have a toslink port these days). Better yet, grab an Nforce 2 with a DD ICE and have all your audio upconverted to DD 5.1

You talking about one of these? I've yet to see a sound card that actually has optical out. My NF2 board does have DD ICE onboard, but the solution I posted above works for every sound card out there, and saves the user ~$10. Still, whatever floats your boat. (Hell, you could get a single RCA cable with male connectors on both ends and run it through your coax out if you have a sound card, or in my case motherboard, that supports it.)

[The Kernel]

Why do that? You can just run a Toslink cable and preserve the surround sound (most soundcards have a toslink port these days). Better yet, grab an Nforce 2 with a DD ICE and have all your audio upconverted to DD 5.1

You talking about one of these? I've yet to see a sound card that actually has optical out. My NF2 board does have DD ICE onboard, but the solution I posted above works for every sound card out there, and saves the user ~$10. Still, whatever floats your boat. (Hell, you could get a single RCA cable with male connectors on both ends and run it through your coax out if you have a sound card, or in my case motherboard, that supports it.)

A coax out is the same as a toslink really, they are both SP/DIF. But RCA via the Red and White jacks only carries a stereo signal so you lose the DD 5.1. If you can, always use the digital connector, ESPECIALLY when you have the Nforce 2 ICE. Otherwise you aren't getting what you paid for.

[Embracer Of Darkness]

For stationary music at home I play MP3s on my computer through a Sound Blaster Extigy and a 5.1 system.

For music on the move I play MP3s on my iRiver SlimX 400 or whatever it's called, MP3/CD player.